METALS-Zinc, copper fall as fresh U.S. tariffs on China loom

4 Min Read

(Adds Trump comments, updates prices)
BEIJING, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Zinc and copper prices dropped
on Tuesday, along with other base metals, after U.S. President
Donald Trump warned new tariffs on Chinese goods in the absence
of a trade agreement with China.
Trump told FOX News Channel's "The Ingraham Angle" that he
thinks there will be "a great deal" with China on trade, but
warned that he has billions of dollars worth of new tariffs
ready to go if a deal is not possible.
Bloomberg News reported on Monday that Washington was
preparing to announce tariffs on an additional $257 billion of
Chinese goods by early December if talks next month between
Trump and his counterpart Xi Jinping fail.
Metals prices have been weighed down by tit-for-tat tariffs
imposed by the world's top two economies this year amid concerns
the trade row will hurt demand for these commodities.
"Falling inventories and rising premiums continue to
indicate the fundamentals remain positive for ... metals," ANZ
wrote in a note. "However, rumours of more U.S. tariffs on
Chinese goods triggered a sell-off."
Three-month zinc on the London Metal Exchange was
down 0.8 percent at $2,600 a tonne by 0725 GMT and copper
slipped 0.3 percent to $6,140.
* SHANGHAI METALS: On the Shanghai Futures Exchange, zinc
slid 1.9 percent to settle at 21,800 yuan ($3,130) a
tonne, aluminium dropped 0.7 percent to 14,085 yuan and
copper eased 0.4 percent to 49,700 yuan.
* COPPER PREMIUMS: The premium for the cash over the
three-month LME copper contract CMCU0-3 was last at $18.50 a
tonne, having hit a three-year high of $47 a tonne on Friday in
a sign of immediate market tightness.
* BHP: The world's biggest miner BHP Billiton
has trimmed its expectations of global growth for next
year and 2020 due to a "lose-lose" result from the U.S.-China
trade conflict.
* CHINA ECONOMY: China's banking and insurance watchdog will
soon release new rules to boost financing to small companies,
and urge banks to step up support for firms facing temporary
difficulties.
* CHINA MANUFACTURING: Growth in China's factory sector
likely cooled further in October as domestic demand faltered and
exporters felt a bigger sting from an intensifying trade war
with the United States, a Reuters poll showed.
* EQUITIES: Asia shares crept higher as China made a fresh
attempt to stabilise its stock markets, but the gains looked
fragile amid fears of a sharp escalation in the U.S.-China trade
war. The dollar held most of its overnight gains against a
basket of major currencies.
PRICES
Three month LME copper 6140
Most active ShFE copper 49700
Three month LME aluminium 1985
Most active ShFE aluminium 14085
Three month LME zinc 2600
Most active ShFE zinc 21800
Three month LME lead 1965
Most active ShFE lead 18405
Three month LME nickel 11780
Most active ShFE nickel 98390
Three month LME tin 19100
Most active ShFE tin 146680
BASE METALS ARBITRAGE
LME/SHFE COPPER LMESHFCUc3 74.27
LME/SHFE ALUMINIUM LMESHFALc3 -1936.05
LME/SHFE ZINC LMESHFZNc3 178.36
LME/SHFE LEAD LMESHFPBc3 1627.72
LME/SHFE NICKEL LMESHFNIc3 2281.17
($1 = 6.9652 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Tom Daly; Additional reporting by Manolo Serapio
Jr. in MANILA; Editing by Joseph Radford and Subhranshu Sahu)